If I can make this interesting enough to read, I must be doing something right.

They say being an outside salesman is the loneliest Job in the world. Tomorrow I have to head on one of the very few trips I take for work that require me to stay overnight somewhere that isn't my home. I'm not a fan of these trips, so it is good they aren't frequent.

There are many people that spend most of their working lives living out of suitcases, in motels and hotels. Sleeping in freshly cleaned sheets every night, in a bed made by a stranger, surviving on restaurant food and take away coffee made by people they'll never meet. Never being able to smell the pillow next to them before they drift off into dreams Publish of the times that scent takes them too. I don't think I could live like that, but I admire those that can do it and keep their sanity.

There are good things too, like those moments that can only happen when you aren't with anyone else. When you have nothing to do but really focus on your surroundings, and the people within them. I cherish those more then I dread the hours surrounding them.

The old couple, having breakfast in the early am, who never say a word to each other all meal, but somehow know exactly when the other needs a new section of the paper, and pass it, like a perfectly choreographed dance across the table as the other passes one back.

Couples out for lunch, new and long established, sometimes forming right before your eyes. The business people, tight collared, trying to say just enough, but not too much, trying to please everyone, but not be overzealous. Then there are the other "business" lunches, where the tension is always quite obviously of a different breed.

There are the dinners with many friends, but I especially watch those old and loyal, and imagine being a part of 40 years from now. I picture us all replacing those weathered faces creased with deep smile lines seated around those tables, and think about how lucky I am, and will be even many years down the road.

I also watch those other business men, eating quietly, quickly and usually far too much, staring only at their plates. I wonder if time and routine has robbed them of the gift of observation, or if they ever had it at all. I wonder if they listen like I look, and hope they do, otherwise, it would be the loneliest job in the world.

Our farewells are just see you laters.

So many times in the past I've had to say farewell, and a few unfortunate times I knew it was really goodbye. It never got any easier.

I can't really pinpoint the proper word for it, but I know the first time I felt it was the last few days before we all left for college and university, the first time the posse was ever going to be forced apart for any real length of time.

Everyone told me that this was where things would change; We'd make new friends and drift into different paths. Like most people do, I argued profusely on the contrary, if there was anything I was certain of, it was that would never happen.

College came and went, and we all reunited that summer. Things were the same as before, and I was relieved that, so far, everyone was wrong. Then came time for people to return to school, and there it was, strong as the first time, that feeling again.

Most people went back to their studies, I went to work, and a few months later, I left for Europe. that feeling was the same, so was the intensity. I wished every single time it would get a little easier.

In Europe, I met some very beautiful people. People I cared for immensely, people I fell in love with, and those I felt like I'd know forever. In every case I had to say farewell, and in every case, that feeling, was there.

I remember it felt like a sickness, and in the midst of it, you wanted nothing more then for it to end. Now, years later, I look back on it and miss it in a kind of masochistic way. It isn't often you feel as alive and emotionally aware as you do when your vulnerable, and recently alone.

More years passed and more farewells occurred, and the feeling still didn’t change; until this weekend. I'm 26, I've been through travel and school, and work, and the rest of the posse has too, but we're just as tight as that last summer before high school. We just had another going away party, this one for Dave. He's headed back to Aussi for a while. That feeling? It isn't there!

You see, we've all left, often a few times, and we always come back. It doesn't matter where we are in the present, because we all know that eventually, we'll end up together again. Wherever we are together will always be where we belong.

There’s no need for farewells anymore, the posse has “see you laters”.

Wow, this is some funny shit.

Here another little ditty I stole from a website I read. Its hillarious as hell. I know, I'm a lazy prick, but seriously, this is going to make you laugh, and I can't promise I would.

10AM Rob Schneider? Is That You?

Customer: Can you draw something on the cake for me?
Employee: Sure, what do you want on it?
Customer: A dick.
Employee: I can do you one better. We've got these chocolate-covered bananas, and chocolate-covered cookie dough balls. I can put an edible, chocolate-covered dick and balls on your cake.
Customer: Fucking awesome!
Manager, walking in: Uh, what are you doing?
Employee: Making a dick cake.
Manager: Woo! Makin' a dick cake!

Ben & Jerry's, East Village
New York, New York

Overheard by: Sam

The link to the website I got it from, as well as its partner sites are as follow:

"Friend Record"

I came across this video today:

The memories of the real deal came rushing back. The whistling s's of Grandma Gussie and the oh so scary "Friend Record". Who are you a friend of, Mr. Record? HMMM? Could it be, ohh I don't know...... the devil?

I remember all those times, you'd sneak on the TV smashing those wooden spoons together, wobbling menacingly back and forth like a homeless drunk, busking with whatever was there. This in turn would cause my childhood self to panic and rush, petrified, to try and turn you off, ruining yet another otherwise entertaining episode of Size Small. If I saw you, or anyone dressed like you today, I'd steal those god damned wooded spoons and beat you. I'd beat you right in your big stupid record face.

Gypsy Punks and Almost Lost Memories

Its the morning of the day we leave, and about 2 hours ago Matty and I decided to check out this crazy big market that sell everything you can imagine for impossibly low prices. Pants and shirts for $0.50 each and a kilo of tomatoes for the same price. It was pretty ridiculous.

We´re walking along jut abuot to exit the market and all of a sudden I feel hands on my arm, the arm that is attached to the hand that holding my camera. Instantly I go into defence mode, My hand grips that camera like it is the very heart keeping me alive, I´ve got almost 500 photos on there and there is simply no way that this guys going to seperate me from those. He screams at me something about being a gringo, and I tear my hand and camera away from him, and he turns and sprints away like the cowardly theif he is. I scream at him to fuck off, which he is already doing, and he can´t uderstand anyhow because hes spanish. Oh well, I´m sure my tone got the message across.

The whole scene takes about 5 seconds to go down, and we jsut look around a little stunned, yet relieved. He didn´t get shit, everyone in the market knows he is a theif, and o one was hurt. I would have much rather I got to hurt him, but thats the least of my concerns now. So we decide we should probably exit the market, and I decide I sshould probably pocket my camera for a while. Not incredibly smart to have it visible to everyone after all.

After that, we grabbed water from the car and just shilled in the park for a while, watched some kids playing around and some guy juggle pins... he was pretty solid too. Got 5 going at once and did behind the back juggling and all sorts of fun stuff. Mostly I sit and fantasise about the fight club scene where that pretty blond guy gets just mashed into the floor, and I imagine how great it would feel to pound that gypsy fucks face into the pavement untill I´m just driving pieces of bone into the ground. Ahh well, we´ll store that energy up for the next time someone tries to take something from me, or generally pushes me to far, and I get my hands on them. Sorry, machismo coming out there, but there's a lot of testosterone ripping through me right now.

Anyhow, We will see you all soon, and the best part of it is, we´ll all get to see the photos as well. I´m actually really happy to be coming home, as I miss all of you.

See you soon.

Portillo, Los Andes and the thermal spa

We headed from Valpo to hit up the hotchot ski resort Portillo. Its the place where all the richies go when the seasons in, though since it is summer, it isn't at all. We had seen on their websit there might be some hiking and kyaking opportunities so we figured it was worth checking out, especially since it sits smack dab in the middle of the highest mountains in the americas.

After a long fairly heavy traffic drive we started up the last strech into the mountains. I had said earlier I wanted to drive some serious mountain roads, and let me tell you, drive them we did. I've never been, and probably won't ever be on more twisty mountain side roads again. It was incredibly cool, et fairly unnearving at the same time. There are no guardrails anywhere, and the corners are a full 180 degrees. Anyone with any real fear of hights would be having panic attacks the whole time for sure.

We finally got to portillo, expecting a Whistler or maybe Tremblant type atmosphere. What we got was less impressive then Chicopee quite honestly. I imagine covered in snow and ice the place would be gorgeous, but a barren dessert with a subpar hotel thats basically not even open, just wasn{t doing it for us so we decided we wouldn't stay for the night. We did however get some amazing photos, of a glacial lake right nearby and the snow caps of the massive mountains, so the drive was definately worth it.

We headed back down and into Los Andes, and found the "thermas" which are basically the Chilean verrsion of onsens. Natural springs used in a quite luxurious, mulit bath with multi temperature resort. It was expensive as balls compared to what we were used to, but afte calculations, it was about half what it would cost at home. Basically everything here is exactly half as expensive as in canada.

We hung out in the baths and got ultra relaxed for an hour, let the water from the massaging manmade waterfalls massage our necks and rid us of the mountainroad tension. We also got awsome mexican wrestling masks (aka lycra bathing caps) that we were allowed to keep, and will be bringing home for video making purposes.

We had a filet mignon dinner, a bottle of wine, and went to bed and had a glorious rest. Then headed for some more Thermas, halfway between Los Andes and Santiago. We'll be home Friday in the early morning, So I expect something going on Friday night, ya{ll better recognise.

Valapariso: The San Fran of South America

We´ve spent the last few days in Valapariso, or Valpo as the cool kids call it. I am totally a cool kid, so I´ll call it valpo from this point forward. First off, I still think that girl I mentioned is uber renard, however her taste in cities is like coopers ass, stinky.

I really like this place, it makes no sense, its is chaotic, and it is immensly beautiful. It was build up the side of a crazy steep hill and all the building just go straight up, there is graffitty just everywhere, but then also gorgeous urals at every turn just to add even more bohemian charm.

The most important thing is, we found food, and i mean amazing assed gourmet food with richness and flavors and textures like I´d pay 50 bucks for easy at home, yet here, its far less then half that, including copius wine and coffee. We´ve eated at the same small french restaurant twice in two days, and its been utterly fantastic both times. Wehave also had some unbelieavable think crust pizza, so yeah, we are certainly not loosing any weight in this town, and we are certainly not looking forward to what we´ll be eating after we leave.

We have met a number of wonderful people here too. An older couple who basically live how I think everyone should live when they retire. They spend time together, draw, and travel all over and they still seem very much in love. Halk and Erin, I hope with all my heart you stay as happy as these two are, for as long as they have been. In fact, i hope every one of my friends finds someone like that one day, as even though old people can be gross, there isn´t much more beautiful then old people still very in love.

We´ve also met a number of beautiful and friendly girls, some of whem we spent the day at the beach with today, which was our first really relaxing time just having a serious lay around. Matty and I had been hitting the wine pretty damn hard for the last 4 nights so I needed a break thats for certain. I´m a little sunburnt but im pretty sure it´ll be turning into a tan.

Tomorrow we are off to the mountains, and considered the poshest ski resort in chile, though ski season is closed. They have it open for trekking and kayaking etc. etc. all year so we are hoping to get some serious Andes mountain photos while we are there. I´ll update later, Phil out.